Category: Health

{New research on HIV worldwide raises ‘significant challenges’ to ending the AIDS pandemic, despite progress in lowering AIDS mortality.}

AIDS deaths are falling in most countries worldwide, but the rate of new infections increased in several countries over the past decade, threatening to undermine efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, a new scientific paper shows.

The study from the Global Burden of Disease collaborative network, published today in The Lancet HIV, found that 74 countries saw increases in age-standardized rates of new infections between 2005 and 2015, including Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mexico, and Russia.

The new research, released at the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, also found that while the global number of new cases continues to decline, the pace has greatly slowed. New infections of HIV fell by an average of only 0.7% per year between 2005 and 2015, compared to the 2.7% drop per year between 1997 and 2005.

The study is based on findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle. With more than 1,700 collaborators in 124 countries, the GBD is the largest and most comprehensive effort measuring epidemiological levels and trends worldwide.

“If this trend of stubbornly high new infections continues, there will be significant challenges in meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal for the world to witness the end of AIDS in less than 15 years,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. “Everyone in population health — researchers, policymakers, practitioners, pharmaceutical companies, advocates, and others — needs to understand that even if more people are living with HIV, we cannot end AIDS without stopping new infections.”

Professor Peter Piot, who is the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and was the founding executive director of UNAIDS, also remarked on the paper’s findings.

“This study shows that the AIDS epidemic is not over by any means and that HIV/AIDS remains one of the biggest public health threats of our time,” Professor Piot said. “The continuing high rate of over 2 million new HIV infections represents a collective failure which must be addressed through intensified prevention efforts and continued investment in HIV vaccine research.”

The study examines HIV mortality, prevalence, and incidence between 1980 and 2015, and is part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, which provides comprehensive population health estimates on disease, injuries, and related risk factors.

In contrast to the overall slow decline in new infections, the number of people living with HIV has significantly increased globally, largely due to the expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART). IHME estimates there were about 39 million people globally living with HIV in 2015, as compared to 28 million in 2000.

In 2015, 41% of the people living with HIV were using ART, as compared to less than 2% in 2000.

“We’re keeping people alive longer, and these numbers should give those using antiretroviral therapies considerable hope,” said IHME Associate Professor Dr. Haidong Wang, the lead author on the study. Such improvement, however, is still far away from the ambitious 90-90-90 goals set by the global community for the year 2020. Those goals aim for 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90% of people diagnosed with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of people receiving antiretroviral therapy experiencing viral suppression.

Interestingly, use of ART is different between men and women. On average, global ART use is 10% higher among women living with HIV, and in some sub-Saharan nations in 2015, it is 50% higher. However, in some Eastern European and South Asian nations, the percentage of men using ART is as much as 50% higher than women.

“The Global Burden of Disease HIV study provides critical health information to help shape and support national and global decision-making,” said Peter Hayward, editor of The Lancet HIV. “The estimates are also key to strengthening accountability to ensure that promises made by politicians and policymakers with regard to specific HIV targets are being delivered.”

In regard to mortality, women tend to die at younger ages from HIV than men, likely due to age-disparate relationships in which men have sex with younger women. In total, approximately 1.2 million people died from HIV in 2015, down from a peak of 1.8 million in 2005.

The results of IHME’s study underscore the need for more effective efforts to prevent new infections, as well as additional funding for these efforts.This analysis shows that development assistance for health (DAH) dedicated to HIV/AIDS grew fastest between 2000 and 2009, yet such funding has stagnated since 2010. According to Financing Global Health 2015, a report published in April by IHME, annual funding globally for HIV/AIDS peaked at US$11.2 billion in 2013, but dropped to US$10.8 billion in 2015. With slowdown in the decline of new infections and in funding for HIV/AIDS, it will be challenging to achieve the goal set by the global community to end AIDS by 2030.

{You may say that banana is just a fruit, but I’d say it’s more than just a fruit, so if you have been underestimating the power of bananas you just need to think twice.}

Minus the fact that banana is delicious, it’s nutritional value would also wow you.

Below are some reasons why banana is more than just a fruit

1. Bananas provide a huge source of natural energy due to its abundance of minerals and vitamins. Just two bananas can give you enough energy to exercise for an hour and it can also help protect against muscle cramp.

2. Bananas are high in potassium and low in salt and can help lower blood pressure and protect against stroke and heart attacks.

3. Banana can help lower your temperature during a hot day or when you have a fever.

4. Bananas are excellent for pregnant women; they help fight against morning sickness and replenish the body as well as restoring a healthy blood glucose level.

5. Banana can make you happy. Well, its sweet taste is enough to make one happy. Banana contains a chemical called tryptophan that helps regulate your mood. This substance contains a level of protein that can help the mind relax, hence leading to a happy you.

6. Bananas are high in antioxidants which can help provide protection against chronic diseases.

7. Eating bananas would help you build strong bones, protect the eyes against macular degeneration and can help prevent kidney cancer.

8. Bananas help promote healthy bowels. Banana is a natural way for fighting constipation and it’s more advisable than laxatives. Banana is fibre rich and has certain substances that can help promote healthy bowels or restore bad ones even.

9. Bananas are needed during a lady’s monthly flow. During a lady’s monthly flow, banana should be her best friend as it can help reduce period cramp as well as regulate blood glucose level and help your general mood.

10. They are good for the brains

Literally, bananas would make you smart. Bananas are highly rich in potassium and they would help the body’s circulatory system help deliver oxygen to the brain.

Bananas ought to be your best friend as they have more value than you think.

Bananas have two times as many carbohydrates as an apple, five times as much Vitamin A and iron and three times as much phosphorus. They are also rich in potassium and natural sugars.

You would be wise if you remind yourself that a banana everyday would keep your far away from your doctor.

{The dangers of energy drinks are getting a lot of press because of the sheer volume of energy stimulating products in the marketplace and the ease of access to these by minors.}

While most energy drinks don’t have as much caffeine as a Starbucks’ coffee, they are heavily sweetened and easy to drink, which appeals more to the younger demographic.

Therefore, we are seeing increased incidents of those 18 and younger having dangerous side effects from consuming too many energy drinks at one time.

{{Fourteen Dangers of Drinking Too Many Energy Drinks at One Time}}

{{1.}}{{Cardiac Arrest: }} While our Caffeine Calculator can show people how many energy drinks at one time would be lethal, this formula doesn’t apply to everyone. Those with underlying heart conditions have gone into cardiac arrest after just a few energy drinks. Before drinking energy drinks or caffeine, be sure to know your heart’s health.-A new study showed that energy drinks cause more forceful heart contractions, which could be harmful to some with certain heart conditions.- One study showed that between 2009 and 2011 there were 4854 calls to poison control centers regarding energy drinks. 51% of these calls were involving children. src– Another study shows the link between energy drinks and cardiac events among teens. This study recommends that teens consume no more than one 250 ml energy drink per day and not before or during sports or exercise. Study link. A 2016 study showed that 18-40-year-olds who drank energy drinks had a significant increase in their QTc interval, which is a marker of abnormal heart rhythm risk. Abstract.

{{2.}}{{Headaches and Migraines: }} Too many energy drinks can lead to severe headaches from the caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Changing the amount of caffeine you ingest daily can cause more frequent headaches.

{{3.}}{{Increased Anxiety:}} Those with 2 different genetic variations in their adenosine receptors are prone to feeling increased anxiety when consuming caffeinated beverages such as energy drinks. Larger doses of caffeine can even spur on full blown panic attacks.The research.

{{4.}}{{Insomnia: }} Energy drinks do a good job of keeping people awake, but when abused, they can cause some people to miss sleep altogether. This lack of sleep causes impaired functioning and can be dangerous to drive or perform other concentration heavy tasks.

{{5.}}{{Type 2 Diabetes:}} Because many energy drinks are also very high in sugar, they can eventually wear out the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, which leads to type 2 diabetes.

{{6.}}{{Drug Interaction: }} Some of the ingredients in energy drinks can interact with prescription medications especially medications taken for depression.

{{7.}}{{Addiction: }} People can become addicted to caffeine and energy drinks. This can lead to lack of functioning when unable to have the energy drink or a financial stress from having to buy several energy drinks daily.

{{8.}}{{Risky behavior: }} There was a study published in The Journal of American College Health which showed that teens are more likely to take dangerous risks when high on caffeine. This could result in injury or legal trouble.

{{9.}}{{Jitters and Nervousness:}} Too much caffeine from energy drinks causes some people to shake and be anxious.This can interfere with performing needed tasks or cause emotional issues. A study out of Perth, Australia found that even just one 250ml energy drink can increase anxiety in young men.

{{10.}}{{Vomiting: }} Too many energy drinks can lead to vomiting. This causes dehydration and acid erosion of teeth and esophagus if frequent.

{{11.}}{{Allergic Reactions: }} Because of the many ingredients in energy drinks reactions could occur, from minor itching to airway constriction.

{{12.}}{{High Blood Pressure: }} Caffeinated products like energy drinks can elevate a person’s blood pressure. For those with normal blood pressure, this isn’t concerning, but those with already elevated blood pressure could be placing themselves at risk of stroke and other health problems related to hypertension if they consume too many energy drinks in a short period of time.The research. A more recent study conducted by The Mayo Clinic found that Rockstar Energy Drink (240 mg version) significantly raised the blood pressure of study participants compared to the placebo drink. Overall, there was a 6.4% increase in average blood pressure. More about the study here.

{{13.}}{{Niacin Overdose:}} Niacin (Vitamin B3) is placed in most energy drinks at levels that cause no harm and can even be therapeutic. However, if a person is taking additional supplements containing Niacin, overdosing on the vitamin is possible when consuming energy drinks in addition to those supplements. Symptoms include; Skin flushing, dizziness, rapid heart rate, vomiting, itching, gout, and diarrhea. Source.

{{14.}}{{Stress Hormone Release: }} A study conducted by The Mayo Clinic found that a 240 mg version of Rockstar Energy Drink caused an increase in stress hormone release. The average norepinephrine level of the participants increased by 74% while the placebo only caused a 31% increase. The study

{Obesity may ultimately be a disease of the brain, involving a progressive deterioration of various cognitive processes that influence eating. Researchers have now shown that memory inhibition — the useful ability to ‘block out’ memories that are no longer useful, which depends on a brain area called the hippocampus — is linked to dietary excess.}

Obesity may ultimately be a disease of the brain, involving a progressive deterioration of various cognitive processes that influence eating. Researchers at Macquarie University have now shown that memory inhibition — the useful ability to ‘block out’ memories that are no longer useful, which depends on a brain area called the hippocampus — is linked to dietary excess. Usually, food-related memories should be at the forefront during hunger but then inhibited during fullness, so that thoughts of food are set aside when eating is no longer top priority.

Prior animal studies have shown that a Western diet — one high in fats and sugars and low in fruit, vegetable and fiber — impairs the memory inhibition abilities of the hippocampus. Practically, this could mean that a Western-style diet makes it harder to inhibit pleasant memories triggered by seeing or smelling palatable food. This would make it hard to resist delicious treats even if one were full.

The Macquarie researchers have now found evidence for this problem in humans, they reported this week at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behaviour. The study supported by the Australian Research Council and led by PhD student Tuki Attuquayefio looked at healthy young people, some of whom ate a Western-style diet.

Participants completed learning and memory tests that depend on the hippocampus and also rated their liking and wanting of palatable snack foods before and after a filling lunch. Participants who habitually ate a Western-style diet were slower at learning and poorer at remembering than those who ate a healthier diet, and more importantly showed much smaller reductions in wanting palatable snacks when tested full compared to hungry.

The key finding is that memory performance and snack food ratings were linked. “Even though they were full, they still wanted to eat the sweet and fatty junk food,” explained Tuki Attuquayefio. “What was even more interesting was that this effect was strongly related to their performance on the learning and memory task, suggesting that there is a link between the two via the hippocampus.”

In agreement with the animal research, people with greater intake of a high fat, high sugar diet may do more poorly on the learning and memory tests because of how the diet impacts the hippocampus. The Macquarie University researchers believe inability to inhibit food memories when in a satiated physiological state could then explain the persistent desire for snacks. For otherwise healthy, lean, young people who routinely consume high-fat high-sugar diets, compromised hippocampal function may make it harder to regulate food intake and set them upon the road towards obesity.

{Study shows patients often feel ill health coming on before tests can show it.}

Patients’ self-rated health is a better long-term predictor of illness and death than standard blood tests, blood pressure measurements or other symptomatic evidence a doctor might gather, according to a new study from Rice University.

The study in Psychoneuroendocrinology lays out mounting statistical evidence to support this conclusion.

The team led by Christopher Fagundes, a Rice assistant professor of psychology, and postdoctoral researcher Kyle Murdock found evidence to bolster their theory that self-rated health — what you’d say when a doctor asks how you feel your health is in general — is as good as and perhaps even better than any test to describe one’s physiological condition.

“A couple of years ago there was a boom of work in psychology and medicine about what we call patient-reported outcomes, the idea that what patients actually feel like and say they feel like seems to be more prognostic of morbidity and mortality than all the cholesterol ratings and blood tests we get from doctors’ offices,” Fagundes said.

“That was an odd finding,” he said. “You would think that objective markers like blood pressure would be more accurate. The way people generally report how they feel is more often linked to a future disease or mortality than what the doctor accesses.

“As psychologists, we think, ‘They’re sensing something. There’s something going on here.’ That’s what took us to this paper.”

The researchers set out to find evidence that would connect the dots between feelings and fate. They found it in existing data that established solid links between self-rated health and rising levels of herpesvirus activity, an important marker of poor cellular immunity that promotes high levels of inflammation.

Fagundes has a long-standing collaboration with a team at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and was able to take advantage of a unique dataset it gathered a decade ago for the Texas City Health and Stress Study. The study assessed the relationship between stress and health in the community that hosts petrochemical industries at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel.

The survey of the residents gathered self-assessments (through a 36-item questionnaire) and blood samples for nearly 1,500 individuals. Those samples were analyzed for levels of active herpesviruses and biomarkers for inflammation.

“We found that self-rated health was associated with reactivation of herpesviruses,” Murdock said. “We’re not talking about the sexually transmitted disease, but viruses that are associated with things like cold sores that are ubiquitous among adults.”

“Herpesvirus activity is a very good functional marker of cellular immunity, because almost everybody has been exposed to one type of the virus or another,” Fagundes said. “It doesn’t mean you’re sick; it’s probably been dormant in your cells for most of your life. But because it reactivates at a cellular level and prompts the immune system to fight it, it becomes a great marker of how the system is working.

“You can imagine that when the immune system’s fighting something, you get more inflammation throughout the body, and inflammation contributes to disease. That’s it in a nutshell,” he said.

Previous studies by Fagundes and others demonstrated the link between herpesvirus activation and inflammation. While patients may not be aware of active herpesviruses or inflammation, the researchers suspected a mechanism stronger than mere instinct was responsible for their expressions of discomfort.

“We found that poor self-rated health was associated with more reactivation of these latent herpesviruses, which was associated with higher inflammation, and we know those two things are associated with morbidity and mortality, as well as some cancers, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” Murdock said.

After eliminating data for 251 individuals who showed no sign of herpesvirus, the team wound up with a snapshot that clearly showed those who reported feeling in good health had low virus and inflammation levels, while those who said they felt poorly were high on the virus and inflammation scales.

The researchers noted that primary care physicians are highly unlikely to check for herpesvirus activity or inflammation. “It’s too hard an assay to do clinically and takes too much time,” Fagundes said. “They look at things like white blood cell counts in cancer patients but would never do a herpesvirus latency test, and tests for inflammation would be rare. These are good markers for long-term health, but not for things that are going to impact you tomorrow.”

He said scientists haven’t yet identified the channel that gives people a sense of impending illness. One theory is that fatigue is a marker. “I’ve heard many primary care physicians say they’ve never seen anyone with a disease that wasn’t associated with fatigue,” Fagundes said. Another possibility is a sense of imbalance in the gut microbiome, another avenue of future study.

But doctors should still pay close attention to what patients report. “When a patient says, ‘I don’t feel like my health is very good right now,’ it’s meaningful thing with a biological basis, even if they don’t show symptoms,” he said.

“When I go to patient-advocate conferences, people say they’re grateful we’re finding biological mechanisms because they feel like doctors have ignored them for years, saying, ‘It’s in your head.’ Well, it’s in your head, but there’s a reason.”

{If guidelines are followed, daily pill to prevent HIV infection can significantly reduce HIV incidence among men who have sex with men in the US}

A daily pill to prevent HIV infection can reduce new cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) by a third in the U.S. over the next 10 years, according to a new modeling study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and available online. The expected significant drop in HIV incidence, however, will depend on clinicians prescribing the medication according to federal guidelines and on patients using it as directed.

A combination of two HIV drugs, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine, sold under the name Truvada, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for daily use as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, in the U.S. in 2012 to help prevent HIV infection. Studies have shown that PrEP is highly effective, reducing the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent when used consistently. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines for PrEP’s use in clinical practice.

In this study, researchers at Emory University, CDC, and the University of Washington used network-based mathematical models of HIV transmission in a population of MSM to estimate the impact of applying these CDC guidelines to prevent new HIV infections in the U.S. The models were built and simulated using an open-source software package, EpiModel, that allowed the study authors to test different potential scenarios with varying levels of adherence to PrEP’s recommended daily regimen and PrEP coverage among MSM.

If 40 percent of MSM who are good candidates for PrEP based on CDC’s guidelines were actually prescribed the drug and used it consistently, 33 percent of new HIV infections in this population in the U.S. would be avoided over the next 10 years, the researchers found. Preventing one new HIV infection would require treating 25 men with PrEP for a year. The researchers concluded that providing PrEP according to the CDC guidelines strikes a good balance between public health impact and intervention efficiency, given these results.

“This is a modeling study of future impact, meaning that we’re providing forecasts of what could be based on the best available data that we have now,” said study author Samuel M. Jenness, PhD, MPH, of Emory University. “There’s a big gap between the 5 percent of MSM using PrEP today and those who could potentially benefit from it. There’s still a lot of work to be done to promote this intervention and scale it up more broadly, but our models suggest that the CDC guidelines provide a good framework for doing so.”

In an accompanying editorial commentary, Jared M. Baeten, MD, PhD, of the University of Washington, who was not involved with the study, noted that how PrEP is provided to patients is likely to evolve as more experience is gained with it.

“Every provider, public health professional, patient, and advocate who has seen the devastation wrought by HIV in the last three decades wants to see far fewer men and women presenting for care with a new diagnosis of HIV infection,” Dr. Baeten wrote. “PrEP can be a part of that outcome–especially if pragmatic approaches are sought, aimed at achieving the coverage necessary to gain population impact at scale.”

{{Fast Facts}}

A daily pill–a combination of two existing HIV drugs–was approved for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, in the U.S. in 2012 to help prevent HIV infection.

If prescribed by clinicians according to federal guidelines and used consistently, PrEP could reduce new HIV cases among men who have sex with men by a third over the next 10 years in the U.S., a new modeling study suggests.

The expected drop in HIV incidence would require that 40 percent of those who are good candidates for PrEP actually be prescribed the medication, a significantly higher percentage than are currently on PrEP.

Preventing one new HIV infection would require treating 25 men with PrEP for a year, according to the study.

{Health experts have repeatedly warned people about dangers of smoking and being close to smoke. However many individuals remain ensnared in smoke either by smoking cigarettes or burning kerosene and wood.}

The biggest campaign in the World is against smoking cigarettes because it contributes to Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like cancer, heart complications.

A study conducted in 2013/2014 by a young researcher Ms Aziza Abdulkadir from the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) confirms similar dangers from the traditional kitchens, where majority of mothers still burn firewood to cook food.

Despite extensive research on the effects of biomass fuels on human health, it is estimated that more than 3 billion people (almost half of the world population), still cook in their homes using traditional fire and Stove and burning biomass fuels like wood dung and crop waste.

Scientists say burning of these fuels has been found to produce lots of noxious pollutants mainly particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, formaldehydes and carcinogens such as benzo (a) pyrene.

These pollutants have been linked with the increased prevalence/occurrence of lower respiratory infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), upper respiratory health infections such as runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat etc and lung cancer when continuously used and for long duration. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that continuous use of biomass for coking expose women and children to high level of pollution more than 100 times than the level set by WHO, claiming the lives of 1.5 million people a year or 1 person in every second.

A study on indoor air pollution from biomass cooking fuels conducted at Chukwani Zanzibar by Aziza S Abdulkadir in, 2013-2014 has revealed a similar situation in homes. According to the findings from this study, women and children are exposed to high 24–hour levels of Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and carbondioxide, 24-fold and 9-fold respectively, and 2-times the measured level during cooking times compared to the safe level set by WHO.

This is undeniable very high and unhealthy, thus appropriate measures need to be taken to improve Public Health. Since firewood and charcoals has remained a practical fire, it is beyond doubt that day in and day out families breathe in lethal fumes from those cooking fuels and are therefore exposed to unprecedented levels of Household Air Pollutants (HAP).

Despite breathing in noxious fumes, the study has also revealed that, as the consequence of poverty and lack of awareness towards this issue, many families in Zanzibar homes suffer a lot, and sometimes bear lots of pains and troubles in search for firewood for cooking, which obviously make them pay for the crime that they haven’t committed. There are lots of solutions/ initiatives which can help relieve women and children from this burden.

These ranges from short term to long term initiatives which everyone can afford and turn the smoky cooking areas into healthier and comfortable kitchens. Such solutions include; Improving the efficiency of biomass use through enhanced ventilation by keeping doors and windows open, leaving open spaces between wall and roofs in the kitchen as well as using smoke extraction hoods to allow smoke to move out of the kitchen and cut back levels of pollution.

Additionally, using the simple, affordable and easily available improved stoves can reduce the level of smoke/ pollutants in kitchens. Moreover, keeping away children from smoky kitchens can also help reduce exposure among children. Last but not least, switching to cleaner fuel is considered the most sustainable cleaner cooking intervention but deems impossible unless cleaner fuels are heavily subsidized but can be taken as a long term solution.

Awareness of indoor smoke as a problem is lacking among the local community. Thus a need for multiple sectors at all levels to intervene through designing cheap and feasible initiatives is needed to relieve the heavy burden that women and child are carrying heavily due to lack of access to cleaner fuels.

Health professionals on the other hand are needed to play part in enquiring about the causal relationship of biomass pollutants and health and recommend appropriate solution for this problem.

Behavioural change campaigns which include issues such as drying of fuels before cooking, improve combustion efficiency by fuel drying, selecting efficient fuels, and keeping children away from kitchen which to a large extent can help reduce exposure among women and the innocent children are limited hence need to be enhanced and implemented.

While the government promotes use of electricity and gas in home and industries, and to make the sources of energy easily accessible, everyone has a role to strengthen education/awareness about the dangers of smoke to our health.